Introduction.

Alexandros III Philippou Makedonon (Alexander the Great,
Alexander III of Macedon) (356-323 B.C.), King of Macedonia,
was born in late July 356 BC in Pella, Macedonia, he was one of the greatest
military genius in history. He conquered much of what was then the civilized
world, driven by his divine ambition of the world conquest and the creation
of a universal world monarchy.

Arrian describes Alexander: the strong, handsome commander with one eye dark
as the night and one blue as the sky, always leading his army on his faithful
Bucephalus. Alexander inherited from his father King Philip the best military
formation of the time, the Macedonian Phalanx, armed with sarisses - the fearful
five and half meter long lances. He was the first great conqueror who reached
Greece, Egypt, Asia Minor, and Asia up to western India. He is famous for having
created the ethnic fusion of the Macedonians and the Persians. From victory
to victory, from triumph to triumph, Alexander created an empire which brought
him eternal glory. He brought Greek ideas, culture and life style to the countries
which he conquered, and assured expansion and domination of Hellenistic Culture
which, together with Roman Civilization and Christianity, constitutes the foundation
of what is now called Western Civilization.

Alexander's
Origins

July 357His parents were Olympias and Philip II and according to
some legends and oracles Alexander has divine origins: Zeus and Olympias.

Alexander
was born at Pella in Macedonia
in late July of 356 BC, on the same day on which the famous Temple of Artemis
at Ephesus was destroyed by fire. His father, Philip II of Macedon, was a brilliant
ruler and strategist. His mother was Olympias, princess of Epirus, daughter
of King Neoptolemus. Olympias was initiated into the cults of Dionysus
and Orpheus. She was often jealous, vindictive and very protective of Alexander.

The Temple of
Artemis at Ephesus, one of the largest temples ever built by the Greeks, circa
550 B.C.

According to tradition, Olympias' ancestor was the mythical hero of the
Iliad - Achilles, while his father, Philip II of Macedon, was said to descend
from the Zeus' son - Hercules.

The legend of Alexander of Macedon begins even before his birth. Alexander's
parents, King Philip II of Macedon and Myrtali - the Princess of Epirus,
later known as Olympias - were in their dreams warned about his birth. Philip
and Olympias were initiated in the mysterious cults of Kabira of Samothrace,
and they had believed in the messages in dreams, so that they have invited
the most renowned prophet of that time Arixstandros Telmisy, to interpret
their dreams. Olympias had dreamt of a loud burst of thunder and lightening
that had hit her womb, while in Philip's dream, he was sealing her womb
with the seal of the lion. Arixstandros determined that Olympias was pregnant,
and that the child would have the character of lion. The oracle of Delphi
advised Philip to worship Zeus-Ammon, more than any other god. That brought
the advent of Alexander's birth. Ammon (also Amon, Hammon, Zeus, Jupiter)
represents the principle of invincibility, and ancient Egyptians had called
Ammon "The Invisible", so any other attribution is superfluous. The animal
dedicated to the cult of Ammon was ram-aries, one of the "astral fire signs",
with the active male principle and the symbol of Pure Will strength, that
stands behind everything , which initiates each significant event and crushes
all obstacles (like aries or thunder). The thought and vision, now become
action. Only through action does it take form, power and is transformed
into reality. The purely spiritual can not be stopped and is invincible.
Alexander's historical mission was to prepare the impulse of a new astrologic
era, to terminate the old one and to transform ancient-obsolete forms of
culture and world dominion. (This transition period from Aries to Pisces
astrologic era in history is known as the Hellenistic period, and it has
lasted for more than two centuries. One astrologic era has a duration of
2000 years.)

Alexander,
Prince of Macedon

344

Even as a young boy Alexander was fearless and strong.
At the age of twelve, he tamed the beautiful and spirited Bucephalus
("ox-head" in Greek), a horse that no one else could ride. Philip was so proud
of Alexander's horsemanship that he said:

O my son, seek out a kingdom worthy of thyself, for Macedonia is too little
for thee.

Later, this famous stallion carried him as far as India up to the Hydaspes River,
where he died. There Alexander built the city of Bucephala, in memory of his beloved
horse.
The court at which he grew up was the centre of great deeds, and Philip, by war
and thorough diplomacy, was raising Macedon to the guidance of the Greek states,
and the atmosphere was charged with grand ideas. To unite the Greek race in a
war against the Persian Empire (Isocrat's political project) was set up as the
ultimate mark for his ambition,
Prince Alexander was even more ambitious than his father; he was even desperate
when he heard of Philip's conquests:

My father will get ahead of me in everything,and will leave nothing great for me to do.

Alexander
knew the Iliad by heart. He loved Homer, and always slept with a copy of the
Iliad under his pillow.
His first teacher was Leonidas, a relative of Olympias. Leonidas instilled in
Alexander his ascetic nature for which he became famous during his future campaigns;
he lived simply, in a Spartan way, eating and sleeping together with his troops.
Leonidas was replaced with Lysimachus, who taught Prince Alexander to play the
lyre, and to appreciate the arts.

Plutarch writes:
The care of his education, as it might be presumed, was committed to a great
many attendants, preceptors, and teachers, over the whole of whom Leonidas, a near kinsman
of Olympias, a man of an austere temper, presided, who did not indeed himself
decline the name of what in reality is a noble and honorable office, but in
general his dignity, and his near relationship, obtained him from other people
the title of Alexander's foster father and governor. But he who took upon him
the actual place and style of his pedagogue was Lysimachus the Acarnanian, who,
though he had nothing to recommend him, but his lucky fancy of calling himself
Phoenix, Alexander Achilles and Philip Peleus, was therefore well enough esteemed,
and ranked in the next degree after Leonidas.

343-342

By
the 5th century BC. the Hellens have achieved the cultural stability necessary
to develop a common tradition of religion, literature, Olympic sport, art, craft,
philosophy, folklore and mythic history. That great cultural achievements lay
already far enough behind to have become invested with a classical splendour
and the importance of Hellenic culture had been made solid in a way which might
maintain respect and passion for ideal values, deep-rooted by tradition, present
and aprecited even in the modern Western world. And this sum of tradition was
brought upon Alexander in his thrteenth year through the person of the man who
beyond all others had gathered it up into an organic system of knowledge. In
343 Aristotles came to Pella at Philip's bidding to direct the education of his
son. Alexander from age 13 to 16, together with the other boys belonging to
the Macedonian aristocracy, was taught by Aristotles at the Mieza temple- about
30 kilometers from the royal palace at Pella; it was the great Greek philosopher
himself who introduced them to the world of arts and sciences. He was also early
schooled in war. Aristoteles who conquered the world with thought, was the teacher
of Alexander who conquered the world with the sword.

Alexander's actions were inspired: by one god, one demigod, one hero and one
sovereign. Dionysios - a divinity. Hercules - a demigod. Achilles - a hero.
Cyrus the Great - The Persian emperor. His actions were guided by the sprit
of Homer, who appeared in Alexander's dreams, while the Illiad was his manual
of war. Like Achilles he was a superhuman hero and warrior, he exposed himself
often to the extreme danger during battle. Alexander could support pain, hunger,
thirst, heat, desperation and great suffering with immense patience, like Hercules.
As a boy, his mother introduced him to the cult mysteries of the Dionysios.
Through Dionysios, Alexander took extreme mobility and love for adventure. During
the course of his conquest, Alexander repeated the same journey as Dionysios,
only in reverse. Alexander admired the personality of the Cyrus the Great, the
founder of the Persian Empire, whose example and politics he imitated during
the creation of his universal empire. Like Cyrus, Alexander respected the tradition
and religion of dominated peoples. The Illiad thought him that he could have
only two epic and noble passions: furious anger and disinterested generous friendship.
To live with such a multitude of images and multiplicity of souls inside one
personality was difficult and dangerous, as such a coexistence was not often
harmonious and pacific. Alexander's epic actions were often guided by the ghost
of Homer, like Hamlet's were by the ghost of his dead father.

Some notion of the personal appearance of Alexander may be got from the literature
and the surviving monuments.
He is described as of an athletic frame, though not taller than the common,
and a white and ruddy complexion. The expression of his eyes had something liquid
and melting and the hair which stood up over his forehead gave the suggestion
of a lion. He had a way of carrying his head somewhat aslant. (See especially
Plut. Alex. 4; de Alex. fort.ii. 2.) The greatest masters of the time executed
portraits of him, Lysippus in sculpture, Apelles in painting and Pyrgoteles
in graven gems. Among surviving monuments, we have no completely certified portraits
except the Tivoli herm (now in the Louvre) and the coins struck by his successors.
The herm is a dry work and the head upon the coins shows various degrees of
idealization. There are, however, a considerable number of works which can make
out a better or worse claim either to be portraits of Alexander or to reproduce
his type, and a large field of discussion is therefore open as to their values
and classification

Alexander,Prince
Regent340During
Philip's expedition against Byzantium in 340, Alexander, then sixteen years old
was left in Macedonia in
the charge of the royal seal; at that time, he was anything but idle: he managed
to subjugate the rebellious Maedi, a Thracian tribe. He took their capital town
by storm, drove out the barbarous inhabitants, and created a colony of several
nations in their region, calling the new town Alexandropolis.

Philip's autocracy was not appreciated by the Athenians, and Demosthenes considered
him semi-barbarian. Obviously the hegemony of Macedonia presented a threat for
the autonomous politics of Athens.

At the battle of Chaeronea Philip defeated the allied
Greek states of the Sacred Band of Thebes in September 338 BC. At that time
Alexander was only 18, and, having been placed in command of the left wing of
Philip's cavalry, he demonstrated personal courage in breaking the Band. It is said he was the first man to dare to charge against the Thebans.
Although Philip's army was greatly outnumbered by the Athenian and Theban troops,
the Macedonian phalanxes triumphed over them. Athens and Thebes now also came
under Philip's rule. Sparta remained the only Greek state not under Macedonian
control. This early demonstration of courage made Philip so proud of Alexander
that he was even pleased to hear his subjects call him their general and Alexander
their king!

The
prospect of conquering the Persian empire had become more realistic than in
346: Artaxerxes III had died in 338, and the new king was the much weaker Darius
II (he succeeded to the Persian throne in 336, after the brief reign of Arses,
who, as the trilingual inscription found at Xanthus in 1973 shows, was given
the name Artaxerxes IV at birth).

337BC.

At the Council of Corinth, Philip imposed his political system on the Greek
states (with exception of Sparta); Philip gave freedom and autonomy to all the
political parties in each polis, establishing an administrative system that
would be stable and loyal to him.

Then came
family dissension, such as frequently displease the polygamous courts of the
East. Philip repudiated Olympias for another wife, Cleopatra, and after a quarrel
at a wedding feast, Alexander went with his mother to her home in Epirus.
Few months afterward, father
and son were reconciled and Alexander returned; but their hearts were estranged.
The Philip's new wife was with child; her kinsmen were in the ascendant; the
succession of Alexander was imperilled. Some negotiations which Pixodarus, the
satrap of Caria, opened with the court of Macedon with a view to effecting
a marriage alliance between his house and Philip's, brought Alexander into fresh
broils.

337BC.

With the support of almost all Greece, Philip declared
war on Persia. In the spring of 336 BC, Philip sent Attalus and Parmenion with
the army of 10,000 men into Asia Minor to begin with the liberation of Greek
coastal cities. In 336 Philip was suddenly assassinated, before he was able
to depart, during the marriage celebration at Aegae of his daughter to Alexander
I of Epirus in the presence of a great concourse from all the Greek world.

On his way to the theater at Ege, the
ancient capital of Macedonia, Philip was assassinated by his officer Pausanias
during the celebration of his daughter's wedding to Olympias' brother, Alexander
of Epirus, in July 336.
Alexander was immediately presented to the army as the new king of Macedon.
Alexander was not the only pretender to the vacant throne: but, recognized by
the army, he soon swept all rivals from his path. He established his authority
far more firmly than anyone thought possible; he was only 20 and for this reason
not universally respected. Since Alexander himself was the main beneficiary
of his father's murder, he was suspected of complicity, especially as he was
only half Macedonian. He addressed himself to the embassies which were present
and in affable fashion bade the Greek polises to maintain towards him the same
loyalty which they had accorded to his father. Philip's last wife, Cleopatra,
had borne a daughter a few days before his assassination, while Attalus, her
uncle and guardian, had been sent on ahead to Asia to share the command of the
forces with Parmenion. Attalus acquired great popularity in the army. Alexander
at once executed all those who were alleged to be behind Philip's murder along
with all possible rivals and the whole faction opposed to him. The known victims
of this purge were Alexander's own rivals: his older cousin Philip's nephew
Amyntas, son of King Perdiccas III; the principal family of Alexander of Lyncestis,
although he himself was spared; and Philip's wife Cleopatra and her infant daughter,
killed by Olympias. A possible rival for the throne remained Attalus himself;
the uncle of Cleopatra (Philip's last wife) was disaffected because of her murder
and that of her daughter, but he had no claim to the throne of Macedonia; indeed,
he was loyal to Philip and hostile to his assassin. Alexander determined to
eliminate Attalus discreetly. Alexander had good reason to fear that he might
challenge his rule, making common cause with those of the Greeks who opposed
him, and selected among his friends a certain Hecataeus from Cardia and sent
him off to Asia with a number of soldiers, under orders to bring back Attalus-
accused of high treason- alive if he could, but if not, to assassinate him.

Alexander then marched south, pacified
Thessaly, and at an assembly of the Greek League, at Corinth was confirmed as
strategos autocrator (the supreme commander) of the Hellenes against
the barbarians, in the place of his father Philip
for the expected invasion of the Persian Empire, previously planned and initiated
by Philip. On his return to Macedonia by way of Delphi, the Pythian priestess
acclaimed him as invincible.

335BC

Philip's elimination had made all the hill-peoples of
the north and west raise their heads and set the Greek states free from the
Macedon hegemony. He started with blitz campaigns against the Triballi and Ilyrians,
which took him across the Danube. He marched into Thrace in Spring 335, struck
across the Balkans, by the Shipka Pass and traversed the land of the Triballians
(Rumelia), crossed the Danube to subjugate the Getae and Celtic tribes; turning
west, he then shattered a coalition of Illyrians who had invaded Macedonia..
To strike the imagination of the world he took his army over the Danube and
burnt a settlement of the Getae upon the other side.

TheGreek
states had grown restless under Macedonian hegemony.In the meantime a rumor
of Alexander's death in Illyria had caused a revolt by the Thebans, favored
partly by the Athenians and some other Greek states (Arcadia, Eolia, Etholia).
He had hardly restored Macedonian prestige in this quarter when he heard that
Greece was aflame. Thebes had taken up arms. By a forced march he took the Thebans
completely by surprise, and in a few days the city, which a generation before
had won the headship of Greece, was taken. Alexander reached Thessaly in seven
days and Boeotia five days later. So in only 14 days Alexander marched 380 kilometers
from Pelion in Illyria to Thebes. When the Thebans refused to surrender, there
were to be no half-measures now; the city was wiped out of existence, he spared
only the temples and the poet Pindar's house; 6,000 were killed and 30,000 survivors
were sold into slavery for 440 Talents of silver. Greece might now be trusted
to lie quiet for some time to come.

The other
Greek states were frightened by this cruelty. While his garrisons were left
in Corinth, Chalcis and Cadmea, Alexander could thus afford himself to treat
Athens diplomatically with eager courtesy, although Athens was hostile at heart
to the Macedonian hegemony, The Panhellenic alliance (from which Sparta still
stood aloof) against the barbarians was renewed.

Beginnings
of the Alexander invasion of Persia
334

By an invasion of the Persian dominions, Alexander took up the interrupted campaign
of his father. The army was concentrated and certain forces had already been sent
on to occupy the opposite shore of the Hellespont. He also needed the Persian
wealth to maintain the army built by his father and pay off the 500 talents he
owed to the ten thousand Greek professional troops, and to Agesilaus of Sparta.
Alexander's army in its successful campaign in Persian territory had demonstrated
the weaknesses of the Persian Empire. With the Companion Cavalry he could expect
to preside over any Persian army. The reason for the invasion of Asia was to liberate
the Greek cities taken by the Persians some years before. In the spring of 334,
Alexander crossed the Dardanelles,(i.e. Hellespont), with an army of 30,000 men,
Macedonians, Illyrians,Thracians and the contingents of the Greek states, into
Asia. The place of concentration was Arisbe on the Hellespont, leaving Antipater,
the general and friend of his father as his deputy in Europe with over 13,000
troops. Alexander himself commanded about 30,000 foot soldiers and over 5,000
cavalry, of whom nearly 14,000 were Macedonians and about 7,000 allies of the
Greek League. This army had an excellent mixture of arms- the lightly armed Cretan
and Macedonian archers, the Thracians, and the Agrianian javelin men; the striking
force was the cavalry, and the core of the army was the infantry phalanx, 9,000
strong, armed with shields and five -and-one- half meter long spears, the sarises,
and the 3,000 men of the royal troops, the hypaspists. Alexander's second in command
was Parmenio, who had secured a foothold in Asia Minor during Philip's lifetime;
many of his family and supporters were entrenched in responsible positions. The
army was accompanied by explorers, engineers, architects, scientists, court officials
and historians.

Alexander's MagnanimityLove Triangle: Alexander, Pancaspe and ApellesAlexander had such an admiration for the beauty of his favorite mistress, named Pancaspe (Campaspe), that he gave orders that she should be painted in the nude by Apelles , and then discovering that the artist while executing the commission had fallen in love with the beautiful lady. Generous, great minded as and self controlled as he was, he offered Pancaspe to his friend artist as gift; he was and still greater owing to his control of himself, and of a greatness proved by this action as much as by any other victory: because he conquered himself, and presented not only his bedmate but his affection also to the artist, and was not even influenced by regard for the feelings of his favorite in having been recently the mistress of a monarch and now belonged to a painter. According tradition, she was the model from which the Aphrodite Anadyomene was painted.

The Battle of GranicusSpring 334On
the way he stopped at Troy and afterwards he visited Ilium, at the Granicus
River, near the Sea of Marmara (May/June 334), where he confronted his first
Persian army which was led by three satraps.

To meet the invader the Persians had in Asia Minor an
army to some extent larger than Alexander's, which was gathered under the satraps
of the western provinces at Zeleia. Beside that, what was more serious, Persians
had control of the Aegean, so Alexander could communicate with his base only
by the narrow line of the Hellespont, and ran the risk, if he went far from
it. To draw Alexander after them, while avoiding a conflict, was sound strategy
for the Persian generals, which was urged upon them by their war-colleague the
Rhodian Memnon. But pragmatic and strategic considerations were cancelled by the Persian
code of chivalry, and Alexander found them waiting for him on the banks of the
river Granicus. Memnon, the general of the Greek mercenaries in the Persian army, suggested that the Persians avoid facing Alexander in open fields and to move the combat to the Balkans. Nevertheless, his suggestion was denied by Persian satraps who felt their forces were superior to Alexander's. but was finally won by the Macedonians.

Granicus, May 334 BC

Alexander's first battle, beside the river Granichus, was commenced with initial Persian optimism. The
Persian plan to tempt Alexander across the river and kill him in the melee almost
succeeded; but the Persian line broke, and Alexander's victory was complete.
It was a cavalry clash, in which the common code of honour caused Macedonian
and Persian chieftains to engage hand to hand, and at the end of the day the
remainder of the Persian army were in escape. This victory opened western Asia
Minor to the Macedonians, and most cities opened their gates. The tyrants were
expelled, and in contrast to Macedonian policy in Europe, in Asia were installed
democracies. Alexander confirmed his Panhellenic policy, confirmed in the sending
of 300 panoplies, i.e. sets of armor, taken at the Granicus as an offering dedicated
to Athena at Athens by "Alexander the son of Philip, and the Hellens,
except the Lacedaemonians (Spartans), won these from the barbarians who inhabit
Asia."

Alexander could now accomplish the first part of the task belonging to him
as supreme comander of the Hellenes, that liberation of the Greek cities of
Asia Minor, for which Panhellenic enthusiasts had cried out so long. He first
went to take possession of the old Lydian capital Sardis, the headquarters of
the Persian government on this side of the Taurus, and the strong city surrendered
without a blow. The cities remained de facto under Alexander, and his
nomination Calasas satrap of Hellespontine Phrygia confirmed his intention to
succeed the Great King of Persia.

When the city of Miletus refused
to open its gates, encouraged by the proximity of the Persian fleet, Alexander
took it by assault; without a maritime battle: he disbanded his expensive navy
and decided to defeat the Persian fleet on land by occupying the coastal cities.
In Caria, Halicarnassus resisted and was destroyed; but Ada, the widow and sister
of the satrap Idrieus, adopted Alexander as her son and Alexander appointed
her as a satrap of Caria. However, until 332 some parts of Caria held out.

Memnon and Persian satraps took refuge in different fortresses and cities. Consequently Memnon has abandoned Miletus for an attack on Lesbos and Chios, and he has unexpectedly died in unexplained conditions. Finally, Alexander captured Ionia and was welcomed in Sardis, and he has managed to conquer Cappadocia and Phrygia as well. The Persian navy curiously renounced from capturing mainland Greece and cutting Alexander's contact with home.

AsiaMinor

333BC Alexander
conquered western part of Asia Minor in winter 334-333, subjugating the hill tribes
of Lycia and Pisidia; and in spring 333 he advanced along the coastal road to
Perga. At Gordium in Phrygia,
tradition records his cutting of the Gordian knot, which could only be loosed
by the man who was to rule Asia. At this point Alexander benefited from the sudden
death of Memnon, the competent Greek commander of the Persian fleet. The Syrian
coast was consequently his next urgent objective.
He passed the Cicilian Gates before the Persian king, Darius III, had sent up
a force sufficient to hold him. From Gordium he moved to Ancyra and then south
through Cappadocia and the Cilician Gates. His passage through Cilicia was marked
by a violent fever that arrested him for a while in Tarsus. In the meantime, the
Grand Army under the command of Darius himself had advanced northward on the
eastern side of Mt.Amanus in northern Syria. In the knot of mountains which close
in about the head of the Gulf of Alexandretta, Alexander, following hard by the
coast, marched past the Persian army encamped on the plains to the east. To cut
Alexander's communications with the rear, Darius now committed the error of entangling
his large force in the mountain defiles.

The Battle of Issus, Autumn 333
Intelligence on both sides was imprecise, and the two armies had infact been
advancing randomly. Alexander was already encamped by Myriandrus (nearmodern
Iskenderun, Turkey) when he find out that Darius was astride hisline of communications
at Issus, north of Alexander's position (Autumn 333). Alexander came head to
head with King Darius during the Battle
of Issus on the north-east Mediterranean coast. Although Alexander was advancing
south he was surprised to find Darius approaching from his north! Turning, Alexander
found Darius drawn up along the Pinarus River, and near the town of Issus fought
his second pitched battle, sending Darius and the relic of his army in feral
flight back to the east. It was an incident which did not modify Alexander's
plan. He did not press the pursuit far, although the great king's camp with
his harem fell into his hands.

Alexander
was outnumbered many times (perhaps even 10:1). Even so, he held back
a reserve force, for the first time in the military history.

After the battle when he entered in the Darius's tent in all its luxury, golden
bath, silk carpets, and so on (while Alexander was known for living in spartan
conditions in comparison) he is reported to have commented: "So this is what it means to be a King."

Another
famous incident sheds light upon Alexander's and Hephaestion's friendship. Alexander
had captured Darius's throne tent with treasure of 3000 talents of gold ( US$
1.2 billion, 1 TALENT = 27 kg Au), with a complete imperial escort; including
Darius's mother, Sisygambis; his wife, Stateira; his harem and other princesses.

When Alexander and Hephaestion went to meet Sisygambis, she prostrated herself
at the feet of the most imponent figure in the group. She chose by the mistake
the taller Hephaestion! Alexander is said to have responded in a rather friendly
fashion:

"Don't worry mother, he is Alexander too."

The chivalrous courtesy, which he showed to the captive princesses "due to
their station", was a favourite theme for later rhetoricians. An interesting
fact is that later when Sisygambis had an opportunity to return to Persians,
she had refused.

Conquest
of Syria, Phoenicia and Egypt332BCWith
the intention to isolate the Persian fleet from its maritime bases and so to
destroy it as an effective fighting force,
from Issus Alexander marched south into Syria and Phoenicia.The Phoenician cities
Marathus and Aradus came over to Alexander with no resistance. In reply to a
letter from Darius offering peace, Alexander replied with detemination, demanding
unconditional surrender to himself as lord of Asia.

The siege of Tyre

After taking Byblos and Sidon, he met serious resistance at Tyre,
where he was refused entry into the island city. It was one of those obstinate
sieges which often mark the history of the Semitic races. The Tyrians walled
them-selves inside their island fortress. Alexander could not leave them to
attack his rear and he could not attack by sea so he decided to build a land
bridge, which still exists. He succeeded finally only after seven months, not
on land but in a very brutal naval battle; the Tyrians fired red hot sand at
Alexander's fleet. The storming of Tyre in July 332 When it fell, Alexander
had the old Tyrian people scattered to the winds, 30,000 sold as slaves.

In the meantime (winter 333-332) the Persians had counterattacked by land in
Asia Minor, but they were defeated by Antigonus, the satrap of Greater Phrygia.
In the meantime, at sea, the Persians succeeded in recapturing various Ionian
cities and islands.

During
the siege of Tyre, Darius opened
negotiations in which he ultimately went so far as to offer a partition of the
empire, sending a letter with his offer: he wanted to pay ransom of 10,000 talents
for his family and cede all his lands west of the Euphrates. Darius Alexander
refused the bargain and definitely claimed the whole. On that occasion Alexander's
general Parmenio advised him to accept.

"I would accept, were I Alexander." Parmenio said ;

"I too, were I Parmenio!"was Alexander's famous retort;

Leaving Parmenio in Syria, Alexander advanced south without opposition until
he reached Gaza on its high mound; there bitter resistance halted him for two
months, and he sustained a serious shoulder wound during a sortie. The occupation
of the rest of Syria and Palestine proceeded smoothly, and after the fall of
Gaza Alexander's way lay open into Egypt.

Alexander in Egypt

In November
332 he reached Egypt, and the Egyptians welcomed him as their liberator. The
Persian satrap Mazaces surrendered with no resistance. At Memphis Alexander
was sacrificed to Apis, (Hapi) , and was crowned with the traditional double
crown of the pharaohs of Egypt; the egyptian priests were placated and their
religion encouraged.

The winter (332-331) which Alexander spent in Egypt saw
two memorable actions on his part:

the problematic expeditionto the oracle of Zeus
Ammon (Oasis of Siwa)

the foundation of Alexandria at the Canopic mouth
of the Nile

Alexander reorganized Egypt employing Egyptian governors, while keeping the
army under a separate Macedonian command. He founded the city of Alexandria
near the western arm of the Nile between the sea and Lake Mareotis, protected
by the island of Pharos, having it planned by the famous Rhodian architect Deinocrates.
From Alexandria he marched along the coast to Paraetonium and from there inland
to visit the celebrated oracle of Amon at Siwah. About 570 B.C., the Pharaoh
Amasis rebuilt a temple in Siwa dedicated to the Amon (also Amun, Ammon,
Hammon). Tradition claims that in Egypt Dionysus founded the oracle of Ammon. One
day he was wandering in the waterless desert with his followers when they saw
a solitary ram. As they followed the animal it disappeared, but a spring of
water was found where it had been. There the god placed the oracle, and set
the ram in in heaven as the constellation of Aries. ...When the gods fled to
Egypt from the monstrous Typhon, Dionysus changed himself into goat...
The temple oracle was one of the most famous in antiquity and was famed for
being able to answer difficult question. According tradition he was descended
from the heroes Heracles and Perseus. Both of these heroes had visited the oracle
in their lifetime, and Alexander thought it appropriate that he should visit
it as well. When he reached the oracle in its oasis, the priest gave him the
traditional salutation of a pharaoh, as son of Ammon; Alexander consulted the
oracle and: Oracle proclaimed
Alexander the son of Deus - Amon (Zeus). It changed his life for ever.